Introduction to CAD/CAM

CAD/CAM is concerned with the engineering functions in both design and

manufacturing.
Product design, engineering analysis, and documentation of the design (e.g: drafting)
represent engineering activities in design.
Process planning, NC part programming, and other activities associated with CAM
represent engineering activities in manufacturing.
The CAD/CAM systems developed during the 1970s and early 1980s were designed
primarily to address these types of engineering problems.
In addition, CAM has evolved to include many other functions in manufacturing, such as
material requirements planning, production scheduling, computer production monitoring,
and computer process control.
It should also be noted that CAD/CAM denotes an integration of design and
manufacturing activities by means of computer systems.
The method of manufacturing a product is a direct function of its design.
With conventional procedures practiced for so many years in industry, engineering
drawings were prepared by design draftsmen and later used by manufacturing engineers
to develop the process plan.
The activities involved in designing the product were separated from the activities
associated with process planning. Essentially a two-step procedure was employed.
This was time-consuming and involved duplication of effort by design and manufacturing
personnel. Using CAD/CAM technology,

 It is possible to establish a direct link between product design and manufacturing

engineering.
In effect, CAD/CAM is one of the enabling technologies for concurrent engineering. It is
the goal of CAD/CAM not only to automate certain phases of design and certain phases
of manufacturing, but also to automate the transition from design to manufacturing. In the
ideal CAD/CAM system, it is possible to take the design specification of the product as it
resides in the CAD data base and convert it into a process plan for making the product,
this conversion being done automatically by the CAD/CAM system. A large portion of
the processing might be accomplished on a numerically controlled machine tool.
As part of the process plan, the NC part program is generated automatically by
CAD/CAM, The CAD/CAM system downloads the NC program directly to the machine
tool by means of a telecommunications network. Hence, under this arrangement, product
design, NC programming, and physical production are all implemented by computer.

CAD/CAM is concerned with the engineering functions in both design and manufacturing.
Product design, engineering analysis, and documentation of the design (e.g.drafting) represent
engineering activities in design. Process planning, NC part programming, and other activities
associated with CAM represent engineering activities in manufacturing.
The CAD/CAM systems developed during the 1970s and early 1980s were designed primarily to
address these types of engineering problems. In addition, CAM has evolved to include many
other functions in manufacturing, such as material requirements planning, production scheduling,
computer production monitoring, and computer process control.

It should also be noted that CAD/CAM denotes an integration of design and manufacturing
activities by means of computer systems. The method of manufacturing a product is a direct
function of its design. With conventional procedures practiced for so many years in industry,
engineering drawings were prepared by design draftsmen and later used by manufacturing
engineers to develop the process plan. The activities involved in designing the product were
separated from the activities associated with process planning. Essentially a two-step procedure
was employed. This was time-consuming and involved duplication of effort by design and
manufacturing personnel. Using CAD/CAM technology,
it is possible to establish a direct link between product design and manufacturing engineering.
ln effect, CAD/CAM is one of the enabling technologies for concurrent engineering. It is the goal
of CAD/CAM not only to automate certain phases of design and certain phases of
manufacturing, but also to automate the transition from design to manufacturing. In the ideal
CAD/CAM system, it is possible to take the design specification of the product as it resides in
the CAD data base and convert it into a process plan for making the product, this conversion
being done automatically by the CAD/CAM system. A large portion of the processing might be
accomplished on a numerically controlled machine tool. As part of the process plan, the NC part
program is generated automatically by CAD/CAM. The CAD/CAM system downloads the NC
program directly to the machine tool by means of a telecommunications network. Hence, under
this arrangement, product design, NC programming, and physical production are all implemented
by computer.